Public vs Private IP Addresses

Understand the difference between internet-facing and local network addresses.

A public IP address is visible on the internet. A private IP address is used inside local networks such as your home Wi-Fi.

Your router often uses NAT to translate private internal addresses to a single public address.

Examples

Private IPv4 ranges include 192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x and 172.16.x.x to 172.31.x.x.